While net injections through those tools fell sharply in October, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) during the month injected a net 830 billion yuan via its reverse repurchase agreements, compared with a net drain of 30 billion yuan in September, according to Reuters calculations based on central bank data.

Recently, the central bank has stepped up cash injections in response to rising bond yields amid worries about a renewed crackdown on riskier lending even as the economy showed signs of slowing.

In a statement on Wednesday, the PBOC said it lend 498 billion yuan to financial institutions via its medium-term lending facility (MLF) in October.

Outstanding MLF was 4.4125 trillion yuan at the end of October, compared with 4.354 trillion yuan at the end of September, implying a net injection of 58.5 billion yuan last month.

The PBOC extended 24.95 billion yuan of loans to local financial institutions in October via its standing lending facility (SLF), it said.

The total outstanding amount of SLF loans was 22.32 billion yuan at the end of October, compared with 63.68 billion yuan a month earlier, implying a net drain of 41.36 billion yuan.

HIGH-QUALITY GROWTH

The PBOC uses the MLF and the SLF as tools for managing short- and medium-term liquidity in China’s banking system.

At China’s recently-concluded Communist Party Congress, President Xi Jinping said the country would pursue high-quality over high-speed growth. He reinforced a pledge to win the war on pollution and clamp down on riskier types of lending.

China’s annual economic growth rate eased to 6.8 percent in July-September from 6.9 percent in the second quarter, as the property sector cooled while a government campaign against riskier lending pushes up borrowing costs.

Still, the economy is seen on track to beat the government’s annual growth target of around 6.5 percent this year.

In late September, the central bank cut the amount of cash that some banks must hold as reserves (RRR) for the first time since February 2016.

The move, effective in January, offers an earnings boost to banks if they lend more to struggling smaller firms and the private sector.